A long recognized need for glasses or drink containers containing solid objects, such as ice cubes or the like relates to the ability to provide a mechanism for restraining the objects in the container while permitting sufficient flow of the drink from the container. Various devices have been proposed to accomplish this task with varying results.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,173,374 to Nolda discloses a device for retaining ice in a glass wherein the device comprises a resilient outer ring supporting inwardly extending prongs. The device is formed with a conical shaped outer wall for frictional engagement with the inner surface of a glass, and therefore is limited to use in combination with drinking vessels having walls angled similar to the angle of the outer wall of the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,320 to Biro discloses a device for holding ice in a glass wherein the disclosed device is a molded plastic unit forming a screen, and a U-shaped portion at a center portion of the device acts as a spring to bias the device against the sides of the drinking glass. This device is limited in its range of use by the range of travel of the U-shaped spring member, such that the device may be used only with a limited range of drinking glass diameters.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,375 to Fantacone discloses a drinking receptacle and ice trap for use in combination with one another wherein the trap includes a side section for engaging the sides of a glass and a bottom section, the side and bottom sections are formed with concentrically arranged openings. The drink receptacle is specifically formed with an internal annular lip for cooperating with a rim on the trap such that the trap is not designed for use with a wide range of drink vessels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,157 to Stone-Parker et al. attempts to address the shortcomings of the previously mentioned prior art and provides a retainer device for insertion in a drinking container wherein the device includes a solid central portion with S-shaped arms extending radially outwardly for engagement with the interior of a drink container. The arms are preferably provided with a rubber tip on the ends thereof for engaging glass and plastic drink containers. While this device provides an advantage over prior art devices in increasing the range of drink containers that the device may be used in, it is still limited in that the S-shaped or double curved arms, which are formed of plastic, will only be adapted to flex to a certain degree for insertion into smaller diameter drink containers, as limited by the dimensions and stiffness of the plastic material forming the arms.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a device for restraining ice in a drink container wherein the device is adapted to be used in a wide range of drink container sizes and which is of simple construction formed of a single homogeneous material, and not requiring a specially designed container to hold the device in place.